


First Meetings - Arwen Udómiel

by KatAnni



Series: The Prince of Eryn Galen [3]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Child!Legolas, Fluff, Gen, being a little shit, lil legolas, mostly - Freeform, small!legolas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 09:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatAnni/pseuds/KatAnni
Summary: Arwen meets Legolas for the first time! Little Legolas disturbs her work and it has several unexpected consequences. A great start for a wonderful friendship





	First Meetings - Arwen Udómiel

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo. This is the one with Arwen! According to a headcanon (that I got from our LOTR Discord server), she is a blacksmith and that is just awesome and I had to write it. Have fun!

**First Meetings – Arwen Udomiel**

 

 

Galion was in distress.

This was not a common occurrence, as he was normally a very calm elf. He could withstand Thranduil’s rage in his worst moments and keep his wits about him when he was at his best. The king honoured him for it and he was aware of that.

Which was why he was also one of the only few people entrusted with specifically being In charge of Legolas when they were not at home in the palace, where pretty much the whole people took care of him.

No, today, Galion oversaw the care of Legolas Thranduilion while his father was in meetings.

And it was why he was in distress.

Because the prince was missing.

His frantic steps took him across the halls of Imladris in search of the boy, distantly -and with even more distress- remembering how he had babbled on about the waterfalls and wanting to climb one. This place, this new place, had many more dangers that neither the little prince nor he himself were prepared for and he did not want to be the one to tell Thranduil.

Valar, he could already hear his voice.

_“What do you mean, you lost him?”_

No. No, he was not hearing that.

Hurrying his steps, Galion rounded another corner.

* * *

 

BAM

BAM

BAM

The hammer met the glowing hot metal two more times before she put the hammer down to wipe her forehead. In heat like this even an elf maiden’s forehead built up sweat and she decidedly did not want it to keep her form her work.

Arwen Udomiel was forging a sword, like many more weapons and trinkets she had done before, this one was going to be for one of her brothers. She held it up a little, considering where to strike next, when her lifting gaze noticed something amiss –

The door was ajar.

“What are you doing in here, miss?”

“AH!” she did not want to yell, but the sudden voice made her startle and she almost dropped the hot iron in her hand. She whirled around to the voice, coming from a small being next to her.

Blue eyes stared back at her, blinking.

“What- Who-” she blinked back. Blond hair, pointy ears. Clearly an elf. But so small!

Wait, was this an _elfling_? She hadn’t seen an elfling…well, ever! Her father had often told her she was the youngest elf in middle-earth and she herself was almost at maturity. So who…

“Hi! Can I look around?” He asked, his face lighting up from curiosity to delight.

Before she could answer any of his or her own questions, he had rushed past her, heading for the basin of molten metal she had carefully placed into the forge’s fire to be heated for a later pouring. He did not have his attention on it however, much more interested in the weapons placed in front of it.

“What’s that?! It’s very pretty! Did you make it?”

“I did, yes.” She answered before she even thought much about it, pride swinging in her voice as well as a smile. It was the twin blade to the one she was holding and slowly setting down now. Twin blades for her twin brothers.

“And this?” another question was fired as he grabbed for another weapon.

She did not know how, honestly. When people asked her later, she would have no recollection how it happened. Maybe a stone went lose, maybe Legolas bumped into something that bumped into another thing, but in the next second, the basin on the fire was tipping over.

And the molten metal was tipping with it.

She gasped, and as the little elf was none the wiser, she acted on pure instinct by grabbing him by the collar, pulling him to her chest and leaping out of the way.

In a spectacular fashion, the basin flung to the ground, hot liquid spewing in several directions and then spreading from the pot to the ground. Lucky for her, she wore protective clothing on most of her body-

The elfling did not.

To dodge the metal pouring on the floor, she pulled him to her tightly and jumped on one of the desks, the furniture swinging beneath her as she made several tools tumble to the ground with her jump.

The little one’s only reaction was a gasp, he closed his eyes for a second, but when the main danger was over, he grinned and pointed at the molten metal on the ground.

“Ohh!! We made it so that the floor is actually lava!!” he sounded way to excited for the mess he just made and she did not know if she should be enraged or laugh. She settled for a huff and loosened her grip on him a little. Her standing point was still a balancing job, but he fit to her hip quite well and she could adjust her stance so they would not fall off the small surface. She managed to actually look at him now, as he was forced to cling to her so as not to fall. He had rosy cheeks and a silver-blond hair color she had really only seen on a few other elves before in her life. Her grandfather was one of them, a few other Sindar elves maybe, but none in Imladris. Her mind rattled, trying to find an explanation to his very existence and why there was an elfling in her forge – and that her very work of the last days was now slowly melting together with the ground.

And that he somehow delighted in this!

“You’re quite a rascal, aren’t you? Who _are_ you?” she was the one posing a question now and he looked down, gazing at the metal spreading and then, with the lack of heat to keep it molten, slowing down gradually. The orange illumination made his eyes sparkle, and he looked scared for a second, his hands clenching into her protective garment.

“I am sorry, the sword is in there, I ruined it.” He sounded genuinely apologetic about it and she drew a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts and beating heart. It was getting hot In here with the metal and she felt her feet heating up from the desk starting to come in contact with the liquid and starting to heat up from below.

They really had to get out of here.

“That does not matter now. We should first get to the door.” She smiled with a glint in her eyes. Arwen might not be her twin brothers, but her childhood was not far behind her either, and she did share the amusement in the sight of the floor seeming like lava right now.

“You want to play with an actual lava floor?” the grin on her face was soon mirrored in his and maybe the fear was gone for now, as he nodded eagerly.

So she prepared herself. Deciding that it was best for him to stay with her, he got a place on her back, clinging his little arms around her neck and his legs around her hip so she could have a free movement of her arms. Then she set to work. As elegantly but also carefully as she could, she leaped from one desk to the other, once even the back of a chair, and took a few steps before leaping again.

Once, she almost tripped, but the little prince reeled on her back, leaning back to balance her out and saving both of them from the merciless ground in the process.

As soon as they knew it, they were just one leap shy from the door. The metal had not reached here yet, so Arwen jumped to the floor and made quick strides outside, closing the door behind them firmly and hurrying along the corridor, finally screeching to a halt when she thought them save.

Around a corner, she set the little elfling down, glancing around to see if anybody was near or if their little adventure had stayed unnoticed. By the Valar, now in the sunlight she could clearly see that he could be no less than maybe two decades old. What was such a young elf-

“By Yavanna, there you are!” a voice interrupted her thoughts. Her actual questions were again pushed back when an elf with light brown hair hurried towards them, dropping in front of the child in a swift motion. The stranger was dressed in formal wear but it was in greens and browns unlike Arwen normally saw around here. She noticed that the little boy was wearing formal silver…and that it was burned with holes in several places.

“Are you hurt? Where were you? Are those burns?!?” the adult inquired. Before any of them could react however, the elfling’s eyes welled with tears. Maybe the adrenaline had finally caught up to him and he realized how close he had been to actually being severely hurt. Or he realized that he indeed was burned. No matter what it was, the sight of those blue eyes welling up brought both adults into a frenzy.

“I ruined the swords and now the forge is all lava!” came a half mumbled reply and a sob.

“Forge, what are you-“ the adult looked up to her for the first time now, and noticed her outfit -clearly for work in a forge. He stared. First at her clothes, then at her face and hair. She saw that his own mind was rattling now, putting her features into place with her lineage very quickly.

“Oh no.” he whispered, eyes closed, then got up swiftly. He bowed to her deeply, the braids in his hair showing and now she realized. He was a wood-elf. More specifically, she recognized the leaf shape on his collar, it was not that of Lorien, but rather of Erin Galen.

“Mylady, I am very sorry. My lord did not know who he was disturbing in her work.” He apologized.

And the gears fell into place.

“He’s the little prince Ada told me about. Thranduil’s son.” It was like a light went on in her head. Of course. Ada had told the three of them about the queen’s death, he and nana had left the twins in charge here for those few days and when she had returned from Lorien some time later they had told her about the small prince that her mother had clearly doted on.

The wood-elf nodded, slowly lifting his head.

“Yes. This is Legolas Thranduilion, and I am Galion, his…well, today, his obviously fired babysitter.” He sighed, sinking down and taking the little prince into his arms, who did not protest.

Arwen smiled, then shook her head. Legolas was peeking out from his caretaker’s arms, but she could clearly see that he was not all misery and that there was still curiosity there. She decided maybe her own introductions were in order. With grace, she took off her smithing gear and draped them over a nearby bench.

“Well then, I am Arwen Elrondiel and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, _hir-nin_.” She stroked her dress down, even though a few burn marks marked it too, she did not mind them. With a hand forded over her chest, she indicated a formal bow to the young prince, who peaked out from Gallion’s arms and nodded back at her from his position.

“Nice to meet you.” He said, smiling.

* * *

 

“He was where?!” the thunderous voice carried through the garden as Arwen sat in the grass with Legolas. The prince had agreed to get his small burns looked at by her, if they stayed in the gardens to do it while Galion alerted his father to what happened.

As the last of the bandages were applied and secured, a clearly furious but also worried king rounded the corner.

Arwen looked up. She pondered if she had actually ever met Thranduil and decided that no, she had not. His blond hair fell long and straight over his regal shoulders while it now made a show of flying behind him dramatically, just like his fine robes. The royal came to a halt in front of his son, kneeling in the grass gracefully.

Completely ignoring Arwen, he lifted his son from the ground and inspected his garments as well as his arms. Seeing it already taken care of, his tension seemed to subside and he closed his eyes for a second, sinking to the grass, hands still on his son’s shoulders.

“Legolas, what have I told you about wandering off from Galion? Especially in strange places?” he scolded, staring into his son’s eyes sternly.

“Not to do it?” Legolas hesitated and exchanged a glance with Arwen now, who had to force down her smile. She vividly remembered running from her own caretakers as a child. Despite current appearance she herself had been a rather bashful toddler.

“Exactly.” A huff was heard and he then scooped Legolas up, balancing him on his hip expertly, like he did It a million times before –which was probably not that far off. It was a quaint sight, seeing as the two shared a lot of similarities in appearance. The king suddenly turned to her as he got up. In a rush to be on their eye level again, she lifted herself up from her sitting position, bowing in respect, as did Thranduil.

“Lady Arwen, I assume? Thank you for assuring my son’s safety.” He paused, looking at Legolas sternly. “And my deepest apologies for any damage he might have caused. I will of course pay you any expenses.” The king assured.

Now Arwen really had to laugh. It may be inappropriate, and Thranduil’s eyebrows showed his bewilderment, but she did not care. She only winked at Legolas and tilted her head.

“Do not worry about that, my Lord. I have plenty of time to redo what he destroyed, and make it even better this time. Also, we had a lot of fun regardless, right, Legolas?” she asked and the prince did smile back this time, the devious twinkle coming back to his blue eyes.

“Yup!” he chimed. “’The floor Is lava’ is more fun with actual lava to make it interesting!” he announced to his father, throwing his arms wide to express how much more fun it was. Now even the king had to smile, if only be- rather than amusedly.

“I see. Well then, would you mind showing him around tomorrow, milady? Maybe you have less trouble keeping up with him than my butler does.” He asked, and Arwen looked to the prince and his excited expression upon this suggestion. In their little downtime right now, Legolas had really started to open up to her. He had begun blabbering about various topics, things he liked and stories of his own kingdom. If she was quite honest, it had indeed been a nice change to her normal day to day life, as Legolas had a certain kind of energy about him that she did not mind at all.

“I would love to.” She said, smiling back at him freely.

* * *

 

It was not a rare sight, that after this event, Legolas would be seen with Lady Arwen. Whenever he visited Imladris, or on the rare occasions that Arwen and her family visited the woodland realm, the two would be excited to meet each other – and Galion would have a little bit more free time. Their friendship blossomed over many topics, and the little prince would often resist Erestor’s teachings to run out and have Arwen read to him instead.

Under the trees of the valley the breeze was refreshing and the trees were delightful, even as the darkness in his own homeland grew.

Even centuries later, nobody bat an eyelash to see these two together, not even much later again, in Minas Tirith, where the sight of an elf was rarely seen.

“I heard you were in here. What are you up to?”

Her hammer stopped mid-swing and she rolled her eyes at his antiques before continuing.

“You really have to stop that. One day I will impale you with a hot iron, just you wait.” She countered, another CLANG filling the air. Legolas looked hurt, if only faking it, biting into his apple with gusto and leaning against one of the tool tables in the forge. 

“You would not!” he gasped.

“Don’t test me.” She said, but he just snorted, taking another bite. There was a short, comfortable silence while Legolas watched her, expertly balancing around her so she could reach all she needed without him being in the way.

“You know what, maybe I should tell Gimli about your work in here.” He said, tapping his chin. She hesitated. Her refuge in the forge had always been her quiet time alone. Not even Aragorn bothered her much in here. Legolas – as had always been the case- was kind of the exception to this alone time. He once said he liked to watch her work, just as she liked to watch him train his bow or read with him in the gardens.

“I bet he would have unique knowledge to share with me.” She finally decided. After all, she may not know Gimli that well yet, but Legolas did. And if Legolas said that it was a good idea, who was she to doubt him?

Legolas grinned broadly at her now, so much reminding her of the first time they met, that her smile grew just as wide.

“Remember when you ruined all my work by knocking over the molten metal?” she said, a side glance shot in his direction.

He snorted and the bell-like laughter filled the hot air around them.

“Indeed. But I would do it again in a heartbeat.” He said, winking at her. Arwen snickered, waving the hot iron in his direction playfully, which he dodged without a problem. Then she smiled. If it meant meeting him that way on that day, she would never take that back either.

“And I honestly think I would let you.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, how'd you like it? Pls tell me what you think <3


End file.
